Another Year Of Gaming Goodness

Posted Dec 30, 2005 by Rommie Johnson, Wes Phillips and Doug Buel

Updated Mar 30, 2007 at 03:29 PM

Looking back, 2004 was a tough act to follow. That year saw the release of both “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” and “Halo 2,” the sort of titles we line up at midnight for the privilege to purchase.

In 2005, the industry’s largess might have seemed chintzy by comparison. But even so, there was plenty of fun to be had. To wit, we present our top games of the year.

Because we’re incapable of agreement on anything, we each picked five favorites.

WES PHILLIPS’ TOP 5

1. Lumines (Sony PSP): This puzzler melds music with “Tetris”-like action and proves that a game doesn’t have to be complicated to be good.

2. Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft Xbox 360): The best game out of the gate for the 360 has magnificent graphics and refined gameplay.

3. Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse (Microsoft Xbox): A killer soundtrack, scathing sense of humor and fresh take on the tired zombie genre.

4. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PSP): This is the first handheld game to have the open-ended, go-anywhere feel of a console title.

5. F.E.A.R (Windows PC): This genre-bending first-person shooter gave PC gamers a reason to keep upgrading their computers every three months.

DOUG BUEL’S TOP 5

1. Shadow of the Colossus (Sony PlayStation 2): This game of man vs. Gargantua is spellbinding at every turn. Few games manage to create a cinematic experience where you feel that what you’re doing matters on a profound level, as this one does.

2. Meteos (Nintendo DS): This puzzler makes intense use of the machine’s touch screen - indeed, the game wouldn’t be possible without it. The backgrounds are more than just eye candy, with varying gravity and behaviors as you conquer the different puzzle worlds.

3. Soul Calibur III (PS2): Namco’s fighting extravaganza is what a modern fighting game is supposed to be. There are more characters than you can count, great graphics and endless fun.

4. Resident Evil 4 (Nintendo GameCube and PS2): With its gritty graphics and rural chills, Capcom’s bloody horror fest set an all-new benchmark for the genre. It also breathed life into what many saw as a flagging franchise.

5. Nintendogs (DS): Nintendo’s “virtual pet” simulator stands the traditional idea of what constitutes a game on its head. This is the harbinger of the future - games you play with instead of play.

ROMMIE JOHNSON’S TOP 5

1. God of War (PS2): This near-flawless production is the new standard bearer for action/adventure titles. Gorgeous graphics, a terrific score, buckets of blood, gratuitous nudity and one of the all-time coolest video-game weapons (the Blades of Chaos).

2. Indigo Prophecy (PS2, Xbox and Windows PC): The term “cinematic” gets thrown around a lot, but this is the reel—uh, real—deal. Its story of an ordinary Joe in extraordinary circumstances is as engrossing as any other video game—and a lot of movies.

3. The Warriors (PS2 and Xbox): Based on the 1979 cult-classic film, this brawler from the makers of “Grand Theft Auto” is an open-ended orgy of senseless gang violence. Can you dig it?

4. The Movies (Windows PC): Precocious love child of “The Sims” and iMovie. You run a Hollywood studio and make your own films; every little detail from writing the screenplay to editing the final product is in your hands. Too cool.

5. SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy Seals (PS2): The best online run-‘n’-shoot experience of ‘05—and, yes, that includes “Perfect Dark Zero.” A dozen huge maps + 32 players = unlimited mayhem.